Cutting Close to the Bones of Workers | Collins Nweke and wage austerity of current Federal Government of Belgium is hurting the most vulnerable The dual negative impact will be prolonged depression low inflation and indeed outright deflation The Leopold Park Ostend was packed full on Monday 15 December 2014 with friends from the social sector the civil society labour movements and ordinary non associated workers The occasion was a national strike Corporate Belgium was paralyzed as workers downed tools took to the streets and sent a strong message to government The nucleus of the message was that it is unfair and therefore unacceptable for workers to be paying the bills while corporate Belgium is getting a free lunch I happily joined the strike in solidarity with the workers because I have a problem with government taking undue advantage of an elevated level of public debt to institute massively disproportionate income redistribution In an illuminating short analysis Ronald Janssen an economic adviser at the trade union movement in Brussels opines that the current ultra conservative Belgian government obsession with wage competitiveness is resulting in a policy mix that is seriously misguided He discusses alternative measures that are less hurting to ordinary citizens Read more in the attached paper Tags Europe

Greece under radical left: a start for EU reforms? | Collins Nweke might just demonstrate my point if I built my case around the wrong economic choices made misplaced policy decisions taken among others These had resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Greece I illustrated the crisis with two examples over 40 of young Greek graduates can t find jobs Those who were initially under employed eventually joined the joblessness The zeal to undertake higher education was very low amongst the teenage Greek sons and daughters Those who managed to stay in school had to study not with their reading table alight with electricity but with candles because a serious austerity measure meant that electricity supply became a luxury rather than a necessity I thought I managed to make the case that the situation at present is exceptional and extraordinary Mainstream everyday solution and policies won t do it This I argued was the basis of my Sunday prayers that the radical left not only wins but wins big I smiled when my boy finally said he was convinced by my arguments Now the results are in and my prayers not the vision I saw in a dream as some New Age Pastors will claim have been answered The radical left took 149 seats just shy of the 151 they needed for an absolute majority Within hours they announced a coalition with the Independent Greeks a right wing anti austerity party giving their government a clear majority The question is how founded is the fear of the guys at Brookings Institute Is the radical left victory a threat or opportunity for Greece and for Europe My friend Bart Staes a three term Member European Parliament with whom I stood on the list in the May 2014 European Parliamentary elections had released an unequivocal statement Syriza victory is an opportunity for robust Greek and European reforms I was also keen to know what my friend an English Sociologist based in Athens whom I haven t had contacts with in a while thought about the situation in her adopted second home She revealed that she reluctantly voted for the radical left Reluctant because populism is not her cup of tea and she is curious to see if they can deliver She like many others were sick and tired of the old political ways She s reasonably confident about some able people with some experience who have joined the Syriza led government They do have the problem of the high expectations raised and pressures from supporters She concluded that obviously the old system could not go further She also struck a note between caution and optimism maybe they will play poker very well with the other Europeans and win a large gamble that some politicians realise that the current system is not working for many in the EU especially in the Eurozone My English sociologist friend in Athens wasn t particularly bouncing up and down with joy but I am I am because like Bart Staes I see this as a new start for

Human Capital Imperatives of Africa Social Welfare Reform | Collins Nweke purpose is now the key question In addition to that an assessment of the human capital imperatives of Africa social welfare reform is of cardinal importance These were the focus points of the inaugural session of a summit on Africa Social Policy Reform which was held at the European Parliament on 10 November 2014 Supported by the Greens European Free Alliance and convened by Hon Collins Nweke the Summit was opened by Bart Staes Member European Parliament Global Village Belgium partnering with the African Social Workers Association United Kingdom and Skills for Africa Coalition United States of America in collaboration with several African Embassies in Europe as well as some UK Government Agencies and Local Authorities could count on the expertise of a target number of practitioners from the public and private sector The theme of the summit is Human Capital Imperatives of Africa Social Welfare Reform The summit focuses on not only the reforms needed to make ASWS fit for purpose but also on the human capital required to successfully drive the reforms During the summit the Human Capital requirement for achieving a robust Africa Social Welfare System ASWS received copious attention Keynote Speakers included Bart Staes Member European Parliament Dr Obadiah Mailafia Chief of Staff Africa Caribbean Pacific ACP Countries Dr Diodorus B Kamala Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania to Belgium Luxembourg the Mission to the European Union Collins Nweke Councillor Social Policy Economy Int L Dev Ostend City Council and Megan Clement President Association of African Social Workers UK In a closing remark the convener surmised that there is an emerging dominant thought that the low impact of social policy in Africa is not for lack of legislation or international conventions The ratification of these international conventions and implementation of national legislation seem to be

Ostend City Council Belgium Holds a Minute Silence for Nigeria | Collins Nweke terror Boko Haram in Nigeria People our humanity are at the core of the attacks 12 dead in Paris 2000 in Baga Nigeria thousands in Kivu DR Congo hundreds in Peshawar Pakistan not to mention the many other forgotten wars Cllr Collins Nweke in a statement calling for a serene moment at Ostend City Council for victims of terrorism Thank you Mr Chairman for allowing a minute of silence for the victims of the terrorist attack in Paris I must also congratulate the party chairmen led by Jean Surmont open VLD for the symbolic initiative they took in decorating the windows of the town hall with large pencils By their action the party leaders have sent a strong signal that there can be no place in our society for intimidation and terror As Democrats we must be ever ready to firmly denounce similar terror anywhere it occurs even outside Europe More than the timing of the attacks there is more that connects terror victims in Paris with the radical Muslim terror Boko Haram in Nigeria People our humanity are at the core of the attacks 12 dead in Paris 2000 in Baga Nigeria thousands in Kivu DRC hundreds in Peshawar Pakistan not to mention the many other forgotten wars This municipal council includes an Ostender of Nigerian descent two Ostenders of Pakistani origin a councilor whose mother was born and bred in the DR Congo not to mention the thousands of residents of this City On Sea from over 130 different nationalities It would be a mark of great courage to symbolically disapprove ALL forms of religious violence Mr Chairman valued colleagues I hope you share my outrage Through our actions we must be able to demonstrate that a Western dead is as bad as a non Western May I

The Single UK Story of EU Migration | Collins Nweke would seem more reasonable Over the past six months I have watched British Prime Minister David Cameron get more and more desperate as he argues and loses the debates on EU migration and EU integration I do not want to be in the man s shoes especially as a general election looms The points of his arguments on both matters have been largely incoherent sometimes simplistic and populist yet he has not managed to sway the massive number of conservative voters in their exodus to the nationalist party UKIP Let me tell you what I know about the Prime Minister s arguments that appear credible I know a very good number of Anglophone sub Saharan African migrants in mainland Europe who relocate to the United Kingdom as soon as they naturalize and hold the EU citizenship The pull factor for these migrants is not the UK social security It is the language English and the ease it offers them to retrain or further their studies and go ahead to secure gainful employment So when I watch David Cameron and his agents on tele telling the world that the migrants are there to drain the social security purse I node in disagreement because I know it is untrue This morning I read a new study by the Oxford Institute of Social Policy which in very few words has debunked the Cameron public purse drain myth The study tells us that it is plausible that the contributions by EU migrant citizens outweigh the cost as they tend to be younger than the average British citizen Moreover the NHS has directly benefited from intra EU migration as the significant domestic skill shortage was partially compensated for by EU immigration British pensioners in receipt of a state pension abroad posted workers and temporary visitors